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Le’Veon Bell, Martavis Bryant must have huge games if Ben Roethlisberger out again

By Kevin Parvizi

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The Pittsburgh Steelers picked up a rather shocking victory over the Arizona Cardinals yesterday, because the previously scared-out-of-his-pants Landry Jones looked less like the incompetent backup who can’t play under pressure and more like a formerly touted college QB who can play with poise. A former fourth-round pick out of Oklahoma, Jones took advantage of Mike Vick’s in-game injury and looked much better than the veteran, seemingly usurping Vick as Ben Roethlisberger‘s No. 2 guy. Behind 24 carries from Le’Veon Bell and an electric performance from Martavis Bryant, a 25-13 victory was theirs.

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Next week, the Steelers will face a less impressive opponent in the Kansas City Chiefs, because, unlike the Cardinals, the Chiefs will come into the game on a cold streak instead of a hot one. Not only is Jamaal Charles done for the year, but the Chiefs, who looked like a real darkhorse before the season started, are 1-5 and have lost five games straight. The Minnesota Vikings completely shut the Chiefs offense down last week, whereas Kansas City couldn’t handle rising rookie No. 2 receiver Stefon Diggs, who dropped 129 on them.

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Of course, the Chiefs did have success stopping superstar running back Adrian Peterson, as they held him to just 2.3 yards per carry on 26 rushing attempts. For the most part, the Chiefs run defense has been lights-out this season, and getting key players back from injury this season has helped them go from being one of the NFL’s worst run defense to one of the NFL’s best. In fact, teams are averaging just 3.6 yards per carry against K.C. this season, and their run defense has to be their best asset going forward in a world without Charles.

While Big Ben is certainly trending in the right direction, it doesn’t seem like we should expect him to suit up for the Week 7 Steelers-Chiefs matchup that will take place at 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday.

Although Roethlisberger is as tough as they come and has expressed a desire to play, many reporters are skeptical that his knee his health enough. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Mark Kaboly is as plugged in as they come, and he considers Roethlisberger a “long shot”, adding that it’s more likely for Big Ben to make his return in Week 8 against the rival Cincinnati Bengals on the first of November.

Logically, it makes much more sense for the Steelers to wait it out. The Chiefs stink right now, whereas the Bengals are undefeated and rolling. This Steelers-Bengals game means an awful lot for both teams, because beating the Bengals head-to-head might be Pittsburgh’s only chance at overtaking Cincy for the division lead. These are the clear playoff teams in the AFC North, and the Steelers absolutely must have Roethlisberger if they want to beat a star-studded defense that includes the elite safety duo of George Iloka and Reggie Nelson.

We saw the Indianapolis Colts shut down Andrew Luck against the Houston Texans to buy him some time so that he’d be closer to 100% against the New England Patriots in what was a more important game, and it paid dividends with Luck looking like a quality starter for the first time all season.

If the Steelers take the same approach as the Colts did with Luck, then we can expect to see Jones making his first emergency start. Although Jones was incredibly impressive against an elite Cardinals secondary with 14.0 yards per attempt and two TDs with no picks on 8-12 passing, it’s hard to expect him to have a repeat performance. Even though the Chiefs secondary lacks depth at corner and is considerably weaker statistically, they do have a much better pass rush than Arizona’s, which could make all the difference, especially with solid left tackle Kelvin Beachum done for this season.

Oct 18, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant (10) runs past Arizona Cardinals strong safety Deone Bucannon (20) to score an eight-eight yard touchdown during the fourth quarter at Heinz Field. The Steelers won 25-13. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

This puts the pressure on the Steelers star-studded skill position players to step up for their unproven quarterback, and Bell and Bryant are the two who come to mind the most  quickly. Bell averaged just 3.7 yards per carry against the stout Cardinals on Sunday, but he’ll continue to play a huge role in both the rushing and passing game. Even against an excellent Chiefs run D, the Steelers have to commit to the run with the NFL’s best running back, mostly to take pressure off of their passer.

Bell might not have the most efficient day on the ground, but he’ll have to churn out the tough yardage and keep the chains moving. At the very least, he’ll have to do enough damage to take sufficient pressure off of Jones, perhaps by easing the amount of pressure the Chiefs try to put on Jones.

Moreover, Bell, who has to be considered the NFL’s best pass-catching back among pure starters after hauling in 83 for 845 yards last year, will play a massive role in the passing game. Jones will probably have to make good use out of his pass-catching back in the face of pressure from Justin Houston, Tamba Hali, and the rest of the Chiefs defense. Working in Bell’s favor is the fact that no team has been worse at covering running backs this season than the Chiefs, per Football Outsiders’s DVOA.

Oct 18, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell (26) rushes the ball against the Arizona Cardinals during the first quarter at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

As for Bryant, he might have the most tantalizing matchup on paper, and it goes beyond the fact that the Chiefs have struggled against the pass overall.

According to FO, Kansas City is one of the worst teams in the league against No. 2 receivers, and they are so bad, in fact, that they allow more yards per game to No. 2 receivers than they do to No. 1 receivers.

Against a tougher pass defense, Bryant turned eight targets into a jaw-dropping six receptions for 137 yards and two touchdowns. And that was in his first game back from a suspension.

There is absolutely no doubt that the second-year star out of Clemson is one of the best in the business as stretching the field vertically, and he’s a premier playmaker for Jones to hit up on those deep routes.

Those deep routes should be open quite frequently next week, because, per Sporting Charts, only three teams allow more yards per reception than the Chiefs do.

This secondary is one of the NFL’s most burn-prone, whereas the Cardinals had one of the top-ten lowest YPR averages allowed this year.

Bryant could have an even bigger impact in Week 7, so as long as Jones has time to fire off a few deep balls, then his No. 2 receiver could have a big day. A lot of this is contingent on the blocking, so if the blocking isn’t there, then we could see Bell picking up the slack on those dump-off throws.

Next: Will the Steelers go up against the NFL's best safety next week?

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